Meanings
plural mantises · plural mantes · alternative mantid
- countableuncountableAny of various large insects of the order Mantodea that catch insects or other small animals with their powerful forelegs.
The scientists then allowed the males from one group of mantises to mate with females from the other.
2016 June 28, Nicola Davis, “Having your partner for dinner? Mantis cannibalism boosts fertility – study”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 07 Mar 20171 more example
Don’t get me wrong: I love mantises so much it is pathetic. They have that quality, like some views of a beautiful city, where it feels that you are seeing them for the first time, every time. Each mantis looks so perfect, so whole and individual.
2021 May 27, Helen Sullivan, “A praying mantis: she bites into her mate’s head like an apple and cleans her face ‘like a cat’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2023Synonyms: rear-horse
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny of various large insects of the order Mantodea that catch insects or other small animals with their powerful forelegs.
More synonyms by meaning
nounpredacious long-bodied large-eyed insect of warm regions; rests with forelimbs raised as in prayer
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*men-
- Proto-Indo-European*méntis
- Proto-Hellenic*mə́tis
- Ancient Greekμάντις (mántis)
- Latinmantis
- Englishmantis
From New Latin mantis, from Ancient Greek μάντις (mántis, “soothsayer”). Distant doublet of mind via Proto-Indo-European *méntis. Noncognate with mantissa.
More words from New Latin, Ancient Greek, Proto-Indo-European
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek μάντις
- μάντις (mántis)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Arabic فَرَس اَلنَّبِيّ, سُرْعُوف
- فَرَس اَلنَّبِيّ (faras an-nabiyy)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- سُرْعُوف (surʕūf)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Bulgarian богомо́лка
- богомо́лка (bogomólka)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Catalan pregadeu
- pregadeuany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Chinese Mandarin 螳螂, 刀螂
- 螳螂 (tángláng)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- 刀螂 (dāolang)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Czech kudlanka
- kudlankaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Danish knæler
- knælerany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Dutch bidsprinkhaan
- bidsprinkhaanany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Esperanto manto
- mantoany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Finnish rukoilijasirkka
- rukoilijasirkkaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
French mante
- manteany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
German Gottesanbeterin, Fangschrecke
- Gottesanbeterinany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- Fangschreckeany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Italian mantide
- mantideany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Japanese 螳螂, 蟷螂
- 螳螂any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- 蟷螂any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Korean 사마귀, 당랑
- 사마귀 (samagwi)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- 당랑 (dangnang)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Lithuanian maldininkas
- maldininkasany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Malay mentadak
- mentadakany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Māori rō, whē
- rōany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- whēany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Norwegian kneler
- knelerany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Persian آخوندک
- آخوندک (âxundak)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Polish modliszka
- modliszkaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Portuguese louva-a-deus, mantídeo
- louva-a-deusany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- mantídeoany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Romanian călugăriță
- călugărițăany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Russian богомо́л
- богомо́л (bogomól)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Slovak kudlanka
- kudlankaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Spanish mantis, mantis religiosa
- mantisany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- mantis religiosaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- santateresaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- (South América) mamboretáany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- mantodeoany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- campamochaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Swedish bönsyrsa
- bönsyrsaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Ukrainian богомо́л
- богомо́л (bohomól)any of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Vietnamese bọ ngựa, ngựa trời
- bọ ngựaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
- ngựa trờiany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Welsh mantis
- mantisany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Zulu isithwalambiza
- isithwalambizaany of various large insects of the order Mantodea
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
mantis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mantis
“mantis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mantis. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mantis,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mantis.
Source: mantis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.